Confused about all that you’re hearing about the impacts of digital media and tech on young people? A just-published paper should clear that confusion up, reports Scientific American. Drawing from data on more than 350,000 teens, the paper, “show[s] persuasively that…technology use has a nearly negligible effect on adolescent psychological well-being.” Its authors, Oxford University […]

Part 1 of this series was 2018 highlights. Now it’s time to shine light on some interesting ideas and developments that people have surfaced for a better Internet in 2019 and beyond. We’ll look at a new middle layer of user care that’s being discussed by some – and gradually being built out, little by […]

This may not be the Internet safety look-back on 2018 you’d expect, what with all the news about data breaches, “fake news,” “tech addiction,” algorithmic bias, election manipulation, hate speech, etc., etc. Not a pretty picture. But it’s also not the whole picture. By definition, the news reports airline crashes, not safe landings. Even if […]

Everything about this study is smart — the 10-14 year-old respondents (average age 11), what the authors are modeling for pediatricians and parents, and the tweens’ answers. For example, when asked what age kids should be given mobile phones, one answer was: “It’s not an age. I think it’s more of a maturity thing,” said […]

This week I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion in Delhi at Facebook’s South Asia Safety Summit with YLAC India (Young Leaders for Active Citizenship). YLAC works “to increase the participation of young people in the democratic process and build their capacity to lead change,” using social media as their platform. That […]

As geeky as “content moderation” sounds, we’re hearing about it more and more these days – in podcasts, at conferences, in books and in hearings. People all over the U.S. and world are talking about how to make social media safer, and content moderation by the platforms is an important part of that. But what […]

The Pew Research Center just published a surprisingly high figure under a headline referring to “cyberbullying.” The authors report that 59% of US 13-17 year-olds had experienced some form of it. But it’s important to zoom in on the “some form of” part. Pew’s researchers asked their respondents which of six forms of abusive behavior […]

There’s no rhyme or reason to these things. They show up on different social media platforms, start in different parts of the world, but don’t always take off in regions where they started. There are cultural aspects to what makes them go viral but also universal ones: They “excite children’s and teens’ imaginations, increase careless media outlets’ […]

Young people are both smart and thoughtful about using digital media and devices – for mental health and other purposes – a groundbreaking new study shows, and they are far from naïve about what doesn’t work for them in social media. The study, by researchers Victoria Rideout and Susannah Fox, had both quantitative and qualitative […]

THIS JUST IN: In a historic development for the Internet and its users under 18, the Council of Europe today adopted a Recommendation – a comprehensive set of guidelines to European Union member states – for upholding children’s rights in digital environments, their rights as digital citizens. “How to better protect and empower children as rights-holders… […]

A conversation between journalist Larry Magid and veteran educator Kerry Gallagher about New Year’s resolutions for educators. They talk about risk taking and how to encourage your colleagues to take risks with technology. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/connectsafely/2018/12/26/new-years-resolutions-for-educators-with-larry-magid-and-kerry-gallagher.mp3

by Larry Magid The period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s eve is a time of giving. One reason is, of course, the holiday spirit. Another is that many charities reach-out during this period, beginning on “Giving Tuesday” — the day after Cyber Monday — and extending till New Year’s eve. Another reason, for many tax […]

by Larry Magid (this post has been updated for 2018 from previous posts) With the holiday season underway, a lot of people will be shopping online this year. For the most part, it’s pretty safe but there are some basic precautions worth remembering. One risk when shopping online is to be sure you’re dealing with […]

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/connectsafely/2018/11/13/internet-safety-expert-john-carr-on-protecting-kids-from-inappropriate-content.mp3 listen to Larry Magid and John Carr talk about children’s online privacy rights in the UK ConnectSafely’s CEO Larry Magid and Secretary of the British Children’s Charity’s Coalition on Internet Safety’s John Carr talk about internet safety for kids in the UK and newly regulated laws to protect children from inappropriate content and the […]

My sons are just as smart. On both occasions they deliberately made mistakes entering their passwords and on the first occasion stalled the attackers long enough so as to raise suspicion. When a passing neighbor shouted out across the street, “Everything all right lads?” the thieves fled.

Podcast | K-12 Education Director Kerry Gallagher talk about products aimed at families of young children, including the Relay screenless communication device that Kerry and her two young children are using like a walkie-talkie to stay in touch.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/connectsafely/2018/10/24/ncmecs-coo-michelle-delaune-on-how-facebook-combats-so-called-child-porn.mp3 Listen to podcast interview about this with Nat’l Center for Missing & Exploited Children COO Michelle DeLaune By Larry Magid I’ve been on the board of directors of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) for more than 20 years, and since I’ve joined the board, I’ve seen a steady increase in […]

Podcast | ConnectSafely CEO Larry Magid speaks with Michelle DeLaune, senior VP and COO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) about the center’s work and new technology being used at Facebook to very quickly identify and remove child pornography.

We’ve all heard the stories about kids spending too much time with their devices or, worse, spending that time doing things online that they probably shouldn’t be doing. It’s been an issue since I started writing about kids and tech in the early 90s but with the proliferation of phones and tablets — sometimes now […]